The invention disclosed herein relates to a slip case-type package suitable for holding sheet material, for example printed matter such as a book, and a recorded product, for example a disk containing, for example, a computer program, and/or audio and/or video programs, and to a slip case for holding the sheet material and recorded product, and to a blank from which the slip case is made.
In the specific case of a slip case package comprising a slip case for holding a book and a floppy disk, the book and disk can comprise a computer software package in which the book contains documentation such as instructional and explanatory material and the disk contains a magnetically-encoded computer program. To promote retail sale of such computer software, it is frequently desirable to make the computer software package "browsable", i.e., to permit prospective purchasers to examine the documentation to determine how useful the program may be. In a retail store environment, when a floppy disk is not protected, the danger exists that it will easily be stolen. Also, some computer software is sold on a contingency or conditional basis with the software being returnable as long as the purchaser has not had access to the program encoded on the disk.
While certain packages exist which contain both documentation and an encoded disk, none, so far as applicant is aware, are browsable and at the same time make separation of the disk from the package difficult in the context of a retail store environment so as to effectively prevent theft of the disk. For example, in one known type of package, a hinged vacuum-formed lid is provided having a pocket in each of the panels forming the lid. In this type of package, the documentation, i.e., a booklet, is disposed in the pocket in one of the panels and the disk is disposed in the pocket of the other panel. A sheet of clear plastic material is heat sealed over the disk. While the clear plastic material inhibits separation of the disk from the package, the plastic material can be relatively easily ruptured or torn away and the disk removed.
In another package which contains both documentation and an encoded disk, the disk is sealed in an envelope made, for example, of a highly tear-resistant material such as Tyvek non-woven polyolefin. The envelope is, in turn, either bound or fastened to the documentation. In order to separate the disk from the documentation, the envelope must be cut, which can be done relatively easily while the prospective purchaser holds and examines the documentation.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,580,141 (Vidal), 3,829,132 (Willieme), 4,004,689 (Glasell) and 4,290,524 (Azar) all disclose packages which contain a recorded product and sheet material. However, none of the packages disclosed in these patents appear to provide an effective solution to theft of the recorded product in a retail store environment.